The baling of hay is one way of storing and preserving hay. Without baling, the hay is at the mercy of the elements to be dispersed, is hard to handle for transportation purposes, and is bulky for storage purposes. By baling hay, these problems have been greatly alleviated.
There are various types of baling machines available, each suited for various purposes. There's the rectangular baler which forms small rectangular bales, the stack type of baler which forms large stack bales, and the round baler which forms large round bales.
The round baler has some very distinct advantages. The first is that the bales may be varied as to size, from a very small bale to one of a very large size. Also, with the round baler, the bales may be so tightly wrapped that they may be near weather resistant which would cut down on the amount of waste. Also, due to the compactness of the bale, when stored outside in various weather conditions, the possibility of the elements scattering the hay is greatly reduced. Another advantage is that the baling process is a one man operation. Also, after the bale is formed, the transportation of the bale to the feed area or storage area is quite easy.
The round balers on the market today are of various constructions, many having a plurality of complex moving parts which increases the cost of the baler initially, they are costly to repair, and due to the complexity of the machines, most farmers can't repair the machine.
Many of these balers offer a bale transportation feature by utilizing a platform on which the bale is formed. By utilizing a platform, the hay must be picked up from the ground and placed upon the platform; thus, leading to the problem of leaving hay in the field. Also, to move the hay from the front of the baler to the rear were the bale is formed involves moving teeth or chain drives which tend to break the shafts of the hay, grind the hay, and thereby clog the machine.
Another problem arising from the use of the round baler is the amount of windrowed hay which is missed by the pickup drum or teeth; this hay may either be right at the edge of the windrow and therefore be missed by the pickup drum or it may be in the windrow and not picked up because of the design of the pickup drum.
It has also been found that balers which roll the bale on the ground must have the roller speed identical or substantially identical to the ground speed of the baler. Any other roller speed tends to permit the tines on the roller to tear the hay of the forming bale and thus cause packing problems around the area of the roller.
The present invention is designed to alleviate or eliminate the problems outlined above.